Demon's Fairy
by Jaybee4
Summary: Natsu and Lucy accept a new job, to kill a demon that has been terrorizing a poor village. However, they were not expecting such a fragile demon... I do not own YuGiOh nor Fairy Tail
1. BLANK

**[Blank]**

The horse-drawn carriage slowed as it neared its destination. The man, wearing a large, straw hat, pulled the reigns lightly as to warn the brown horse that their stop would be arriving soon. Once the rather colorful structure was spotted, the carriage stopped and the man jumped off, spitting off to the side once he was on the ground.

He raised an eyebrow at reading the large red letters above the door, _Fairy Tail_. It was such an odd name for a guild rumored to be so strong. Shouldn't it have something like _Dragon Tail_ instead, or _Vanquishers _maybe to make them more intimidating? The man shrugged the thought away and instead glanced back to his carriage with a wary eye. This was the last place, the last guild that could help him with his and his village's problem. Should Fairy Tail fail him, he would be forced to take matters into his own hands and that is what he wanted to avoid the most.

No, he would not fail here. He would make sure that the Fairy Tail mages accept this job and, given their reputation, would have no choice but to see through. All he had to do was make them accept…

Clearing his throat, he walked to the door and knocked in three, hasty taps and stood back, waiting and standing straight. Nothing happened, so he tried again using more force. When he was once again ignored, anger began to boil inside of the man. For days, he had been traveling while burdened with this horrible job. No one else in his village had wanted to do it and as the leader, he felt it was his duty to protect everyone and volunteered, leaving his son in charge. Door after door had been shut in his face, all turning away from his plea, but it would not happen again.

With renewed determination, he pushed opened the large wooden doors and stepped inside. He didn't let the silence of his intrusion push him down. Instead, he eyed every person sitting on the tables, now pausing in their conversations to stare back. Puffing his chest, the man spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "I need to speak to your master; I have a very important and dire request."

"Sir?" The man turned towards the voice and was met by a young girl with long, almost white hair. She moved forward to take charge while the majority of the population in the room returned to their chatter now that the matter could be solved. "Sir, all requests need to be posted up on the wall. Then you wait for a mage to accept it."

The man quickly shook his head at this. "I do not have the time. Already, I have been on the road for weeks trying to find help but all in vain. Guild after guild refuses and this is my last option. As chief of my village, I must return quickly with assurance that the job will be taken care of." He bowed his head as a last measure of desperation. "Please! Help us."

The girl was somewhat taken aback; though it wasn't new for someone to arrive in person with a job, it certainly was rare. Their master was out at the moment on a short trip and wouldn't arrive until a few hours later leaver her in charge of keeping order. Here though, she wasn't sure of what exactly to do. Thinking fast, she pulled the man aside to a chair. "What is your request, sir?"

Sighing, the man began his concise explanation. "It's a demon. A demon that would be the death of us all! I need you to destroy, kill, whatever. We cannot deal with this on our own."

"A demon?" The girl mused. "Terrorizing your village?"

"Not anymore." The man looked down, unable to look her in the eye. "We managed to seal it inside a small container, which I have brought along with me." He suddenly grasped her by the arm. "Please get rid of it for us! I can't stand being near it anymore. Night after night, thinking only of how hopeless my trip has been as I lay next to that-that _monster_. "

The action and raise of volume was certain to attract the attention of another. A tall, young man with short pink hair and scale-like scarf stood before them with a curious expression. He grabbed the man by the shoulders and sat him back down. "Calm down old man, you're scaring Mirajane."

"I'm fine Natsu." The girl said, smiling. "It seems his problems are serious; he has a demon he wants us to kill."

The man quickly shifted his eyes to the other male. "I can pay. I brought the jewels we have in our village, and two celestial keys—"

He wasn't allowed to finish as a large blond head suddenly appeared besides Natsu with large beaming eyes. "Celestial keys? Two of them?"

With a hint of hope, the man searched his pockets until he pulled out a small silver key. "I'm not much of a key user, but I do know this one is Traingulum."

The blonde leaned closer, nearly startling the man backwards by how close she was. "Wow…We should accept it!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm.

The man nodded with equal feeling. "I am willing to hand this over now, Miss, just for agreeing, and the other once the job is done."

"Let's accept Natsu."

Natsu was nodding to himself as he thought about the offer. "Jewels for me and Happy, and two keys for Lucy, sounds great!"

The man nearly cried out in joy, but kept his compose just slightly. "I will retrieve the demon." He quickly thrust the silver key into the blonde girl's hands, who jumped up happily while marveling at her new key. The other two watched the man jog back out, then return a minute later pulling a large wooden box that was propped on top a flat plate with wheels.

He stood before them again then removed a small satchel that hung over his shoulder and dropped it on the box. "The demon is sleeping inside and I suggest you kill it before it wakes. The jewels I have with me are in the bag and the second key is around the demon's neck so once it's dead, you can take it." He walked to Natsu, deeming him the one responsible for the job and clasped his old hands around Natsu's. "I thank you, powerful mage. I also speak for my village when I say that we are all truly grateful. I hope we can meet again."

Natsu had been grinning, a bit embarrassed, as the man spoke. "It really is no probl-wait, are you leaving now?" He asked, taking in the man's last few words.

"I have to, my village is still waiting for my return. I leave this task to you." Before anyone else could speak about it, the man was walking away and was gone with the sound of a whip and clattering of hooves.

Natsu and Lucy kept staring at the door, then at each other, then the box that was settled before them. "Looks like…he was in a bit of a hurry to get rid of this…" Lucy said, staring down at the wood.

"So!" Natsu grinned, throwing back his scarf and tapping the lid. "Why don't I just blow this up and let it burn for a while, I'm sure that would kill the demon."

Mirajane put her hands at her hips at this. "Not in here. And shouldn't you investigate this a bit further first?"

Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Oh, right. But before that, I wanna take a look at this demon."

"What?" Lucy cried, already looking through the bag of jewels. "Don't tell me you're going to open this."

"Just a quick peek, it'd be cowardly to kill it without even knowing what it is."

"It's a demon." The blonde frowned. "And what if it wakes up?"

Natsu laughed lightly. "Don't worry about it, I'll be careful." He inspected the box and found nothing strange about it. Or maybe it was the lack of strangeness that did make it strange. There were no locks, no seals, nothing but gravity keeping the lid down. Already suspicious, Natsu got a hold of the lid and cautiously pulled it up. Once enough light had crept inside, his eyes widened at the sight. "This has to be a joke…"

Besides him, Lucy inched forward. "Natsu? What is it?"

Natsu removed the lid completely to allow the others to look inside. Lucy gave a similar expression as Natsu, unable to believe that a demon really lay inside, while Mirajane quietly gasped.

Sleeping inside was a boy cramped inside the cubed container. Were it not for the bruises, small droplets of blood here and there, the rope tying his legs together and his arms back, the cloth used as a gag and a similar piece of cloth wrapped around his eyes, it could have been a perfectly normal boy. With such a small frame, light crème skin, and silky white hair, only a true demon could have tarnished the child.

Lucy moved closer in, unsure of what to make of the sight. "M-maybe it's the demon's disguise…?" But even she was uncertain of her own theory.

"Demon or not, this isn't right." Moving with determination, Natsu reached inside and began pulling the boy out.

"Wait, Natsu. This could be a trap." Lucy was for the most part ignored so she decided to watch instead as Natsu pulled the boy into a sitting position and gently removed the gag and blindfold. There was a cut on his lip already covered in dry blood and the right eye looked swollen shut. The more he looked at the beaten face, the more disgusted he felt at whoever had done this.

He fiddled with the tight knots of the ropes at the boy's back. "Lucy, help me with the ones on his feet."

"O-ok." Hesitating, she kneeled down and began working on the ropes bound around the ankles. She was quicker having less rope to deal with and managed to remove it before her struggling friend.

Natsu had barely begun to finish up with one of the three knots when the frustrating ordeal was suddenly yanked away. The box with the boy inside had fallen backwards, fitting the floor loudly and sending the body inside rolling out. Instantly, the mages there stood up but stopped in their movements at seeing a large brown eye now staring back.

The boy had woken up and had put some distance between himself and the possible threat before him. With a clear panic evident in the eyes not bruised and still shut, Natsu, Lucy, and Mirajane knew better than to rush forward and terrorize him even more. However, the commotion had once again captured the attention of the room's occupants, many who felt their hearts throb in sympathy in the boy's pathetic state. A few stood, and a fraction of those moved forward in an attempt to help.

When a woman wearing glasses moved too closely, the boy flinched and toppled over on his stomach as he tried running away while his hands were still bound. The impact caused him to cry out in pain and yet, he kept trying to half crawl, half slide across the floor and away from everyone else.

Lucy rushed forward, unable to keep seeing the boy in pain. "Wait! You're hurt, stop moving around."

"Stay away!" The boy managed to creep beneath a table and made himself as small as possible while staring out at the rest of them.

"We won't hurt you." Using soft words, Lucy smiled and kneeled down by the table.

"Liar! You were paid to kill me, I know you were!" The boy cried. There was a moment of silence, no one confirming nor rejecting his suspicion. With a shaking voice he said, "Get away from me. I-if you get any closer, I'll use my d-demon powers and blow you all up!"

From Lucy's view, she could see the boy's body quivering and his eyes tearing up in fear and despair. Natsu soon joined her, crouching down to get a better look. He gave an intense stare, studying the strange child who was now doing his best glare back and appear threatening. "It's a bluff." Natsu said after a while.

"I-It's not! I'll blow this entire room."

"Then do it."

Again, it was quiet. Growing tired of waiting, Natsu got on his hands and knees and starting crawling after the boy. "If you're not coming out, then I'm going in there and pulling you out." When the kicking started, Natsu used one hand to block the hits and the other to grab one of his ankles and start dragging him out.

Once the boy figured out that kicking wouldn't work, yelled out. "BAKURA!"

For a second, coldness descended on everyone in the room and causing all of them to remain still as if frozen in their steps. Just as it appeared to get worse, it sudden retracted and a terrible cry of pain and anguish erupted from the boy. Natsu's hand was also affected by the invisible attack and he pulled his hand away in surprise. "Something shocked me!" He said.

"The boy. What about the boy?" Lucy shook Natsu in worry.

"What about me?" Natsu whined, yet he still reached for the boy if a bit slowly. When nothing happened upon touching him, he finished dragging him out. The boy remained unmoving but was clearly still conscious. Natsu returned to his previous task of untying the ropes while he watched the boy out of the corner of his eye.

He was sobbing quietly now, hiding his face as best as he could in his hair and facing the floor. "W-why is this happening…? I n-never…wanted anything bad to ha-happen…"

More people crowded around, whispering amongst themselves and asking what was happening and who this strange child was. The word 'demon' was thrown around but with sarcasm and something similar to disgust. This child? A demon? The poor boy was sobbing for his life, terrified and believing his death would be upon him soon.

Another member removed his coat and offered it to the pair on the floor. Even when it was placed over the boy, he simply flinched and cried harder, curling up tighter. Lucy joined them and extended her hand, calmly petting the white mob of hair; it was silky and soft, but the dirt and grime hardened it in some areas. "You don't have to cry, we won't kill you."

Using his one good eye, the boy studied her with a tiny spot of hope. Then his eye fell on the silver key in her other hand and the small light came crashing down again. "You've already been paid…" He muttered. There was a quaking sigh forced out from his lips as he attempted to quiet down. "Please, make it painless…w-wait until I fall asleep again…"

For some reason, those words angered Natsu and he grabbed the boy by the shoulder and turned him around so that he lay on his back. "So, you're giving up? Are you really going to let us kill you so easily after all that fighting just now?" No sooner had he said that that he received a hard punch to the back of his head, courtesy of Lucy.

"Natsu! That's not helping." Her angry face transformed to a happier one upon looking down at the injured boy. "Don't listen to him, nothing bad is going to happen to you." There was no response, which puzzled her. She leaned down closer and finally noticed that the boy was no longer awake. "He actually fell asleep."

Unable to stay angry, Natsu growled lightly and scratched his pink head. "I think there's a bed somewhere in here. We should just wait for Gramps to get here to see what we should do." With swift movements, he bent down and picked up the bruised body into his arms. There was no way he would be able to hurt someone is such a state. Looking down, he made his resolve to help him by getting to the bottom of this problem.

A slight reflection of light distracted him, coming from a chain on the boy's neck. It was the promised second key, golden but oddly enough, wrapped in strips of paper carrying strange symbols. It was almost like a seal…

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: I'm not too sure about continuing this crossover, but I already had this chapter written for a while now and if it gets enough reviews, I might write more for it. Thanks for reading ^^_**


	2. AWAKE

**[Awake]**

For once, it was warm when Ryou woke up. There was no freezing draft seeping in through the gaps of the box, nor endless rustling that thrashed Ryou around inside. There was no hard wood that scraped against his skin or splinters that dug into exposed flesh. No angry, hateful words from outside. There was only warmth…

He shifted beneath the blanket with a groan. Everything hurt from his eye to his ankles where he suspected rope burn. The pain was impossible to ignore yet, Ryou was glad for it because it told him he was still alive. He used the little strength he still had to sit up and the pain immediately doubled. Still he refused to lay back down and instead waited for his body to adjust itself. He took the time to inspect the room he was in, small but comfortable. There was a tall wardrobe off to the side, and a window to his right that let in the warm sunshine of the late afternoon.

It has been so long since Ryou had seen the sun's light and it brought a smile to his face. He was alive, free of his binds, and in the light; it was refreshing. Taking a deep breath of clean air, his hand unconsciously reached up to his neck, feeling around. When it grasped nothing, Ryou looked down at his chest and noticed the lack of chain and key.

Brown eyes widen in panic, but quickly returned to a calm state. There shouldn't be any cause to worry about losing it. After all, it always found its way back to him.

Always.

*~O~*

Lucy let the sun's light reflect on the golden key she held up. It looked just like one of the twelve zodiac keys, but this was one she couldn't recognize. Was it a fake? Probably knowing that old man trying to get the guild to kill a boy that looked no older than herself before running away had been the one to give it to them. It was completely possible.

It had been Natsu who had handed her the key seeing as she was the only one who could use gate keys. He wanted to know why it was wrapped in the silly paper. She hesitated at first in removing it in case it was some sort of powerful seal, until she inspected it closely and saw nothing wrong with it. Her excitement then took over and the paper was torn to shreds and left forgotten at her feet. Now, she was puzzled.

Maybe she could try summoning whatever beast was associated with it, but that wouldn't work unless she knew its name. A sudden epiphany hit her which instantly brightened up her face. She could just look it up, of course! With key in hand, she dug through her belongings until she found a small pocket book. She flipped through the pages that described the different kinds of gate keys there were until she came across the familiar symbol she had been looking for close to the end.

"The lost thirteenth zodiac…" She mumbled to herself. A thirteenth? The first time she had read through it, she had dismissed this key entirely because it was a complete myth; a gate key that has been 'lost' for almost centuries had to be fake, especially since it was being called the thirteenth zodiac when only twelve existed. She looked at the name doubtfully. "Ophiuchus." She contemplated on whether to use it and caved in to the idea rather quickly. "Well, it's not like I have any other options at the moment."

Lucy read through the small passage once more before taking her stance, ready to bring out the spirit. "Gate of the snake bearer! I open thee!"

An intangible bright symbol appeared around her before concentrating on a single spot before her and momentarily blossomed in a gash of light. She blinked and opened her eyes to see a figure standing in the middle of her room. She gaped, recognizing the same white hair, clear complexion, and even clothing that the boy from earlier had. If it weren't for this one's scowling face and sharper, taller, features, Lucy wouldn't have been able to tell the two apart.

The other was inspecting his body then gave the room a look over until his unsettling glare landed on Lucy. Lucy swallowed, suddenly nervous and intimidated by the other. When he took a threatening step forward, she took a shaking step back. "H-hello..."

He completely ignored her greeting. "Where's Ryou?"

Lucy was now up against the wall. "Who? I-I don't know anyone named Ryou."

The approaching man paused and scoffed at her. "Ryou, the boy who carries the key you have in your hand. If he's damaged, I promise to carve your body open and leave it out for the crows to eat." He was only inches away from her, looking down at her with dark eyes.

Lucy was trembling, flinching when a hand was slammed against the wall besides her head. "W-w-we haven't done anything to him! He was locked inside a box so we took him out and had Mirajane tend to his wounds! I'm innocent, I swear!"

She was kept beneath the piercing gaze a few seconds longer before the figure stepped back with a dangerous smirk. "I see. Let's get going then."

"Huh?"

"You're taking me to where Ryou is or," the toothy grin became larger, "would you rather provide the crows with a snack?"

Lucy shrieked and quickly made her way to the door with a nervous laugh. "Of course not. Time to go visit Ryou then!" She held the door open for the spirit to walk through then returned to leading him back to Fairy Tail. She didn't dare turn back because she could practically feel the glare the other was giving her back. Inwardly, she cried about her miserable situation. _He's even worse than Aquarius!_

*~O~*

Ryou slumped down against a brick wall, nearly drained of all his strength. He panted loudly and allowed his throbbing head to rest back. Escaping from the room he had woken up in proved to be and incredible feat in his pathetic condition. He was lucky though, that he had been left on the ground floor and the window unlocked. Whoever had put him there might have assumed he would be too weak to leave, and they were almost correct in that. Simply walking to the window and crawling out had awaken every pain and ache on his body, but he simply gritted his teeth and forced his way out.

He had made it past five houses before he was ready to collapse and decided to find an alleyway to hide in. Fortunately, he had the sense to take a large cloak that had found in the room with him. With his hunched back, trembling footsteps, and white hair sticking out of the hood, he was no more than an old man taking a stroll to the others around him. A few have even paused to offer their help which Ryou refused with a wave of his hand, unwilling to be handled by people so soon.

Now he was sitting in the shadows of a narrow alley trying to catch his breath.

Being trapped in that unforgivable box had disoriented Ryou's sense of time and had no idea of how much time has passed since he had first been put inside. To him, it was an eternity of pain and gaudy meals, thrown inside for him to lick off the wood.

He remembered his mother screaming, held back by a villager as he was carried away. His poor, sick mother, how was she doing? Did father know yet? Has word reached him and Amane that Ryou had been labeled a demon and carried away to his death? With a shudder, he pushed the insistent questions away to dwell over later. If he wanted to live, if he wanted to see his family again, he would have to survive the present.

He dozed off for an hour or two, judging by the orange sunlight that reached him once he had opened his one good eye, the other still swollen. He touched his chest and frowned. The key was still missing and he wondered if the mages had done anything to it. Or worse, the seals put on it prevented the spirit inside from doing anything at all. In that case, he would have to look for the key himself. Once he was at least a bit healed, of course.

When Ryou moved his legs as he was about to stand, he groaned in pain as the stiff joints popped from being kept still for too long. If he wanted to heal, he would have to somehow find a garden, valley, anything that had green grass, flowers, and trees. In this city though, there was nothing but dirt and concrete! How could these people live like this?

Once he was up again, Ryou let out a shaky breath. He was leaning heavily against the wall and stumbled as he took step after shaking step, never moving away from the brick support. With every centimeter he moved, he praised himself all for the sake of staying positive and not giving up. There had to be something in this town, freshly growing flower at the least. Then, once he found them, he would be able to look for the key, and then figure out what to do from there. For now_, flowers, need to find flowers_.

"Hey! Grampa!"

The laughter and the preceding call distracted Ryou from his mission. He glanced back with a painful twist of his neck. A group of three young men were slowly advancing, their one-sided grin hinting at an unpleasant experience that would befall him. Ryou paused in his steps, hoping against hope that there was some other old individual they were referring to and would simply walk past him.

The three surrounded Ryou, pushing him back against the wall with no way to escape. They were older than him, somewhere in their mid twenties and sprouting their first signs of facial hair. One of them leered at him, giving him a full inspection with his eyes then leaned forward. "Hey there grandpa, that's a nice coat you have there."

Ryou hugged himself in deeper into said coat. It was thick and provided him with much needed warmth, but it wasn't worth the trouble to keep if he would have to fight for it. He took a deep breath. "If you want it, you can take it."

His voice came out harsh and the three men took it as a confrontation. "Oh, really? You think you're above us, old man?"

It was scary now and suddenly, all the images of the men from his own village were starting to resurface. They were like giants, hurting him and throw rocks while chanting "monster!" and "demon!" and their faces red with rage and eyes silted like wild animals…

His small body began to tremble slightly and he could only curl into himself more. Amused, one of the men laughed and reached forward to take a hold of the large hood to yank it back. "What's wrong Gramps? Cat got your-"

Ryou was looking up at them as they stared back. There was a mixture of shock and puzzlement written on their faces. They had been expecting the face of a wrinkled, shriveled up man, not a beaten up teenager. The one that had touched him quickly pulled back his hand. "Hey kid…what happened?"

"Nothing." He was already working fast to remove the cloak, struggling with his clumsy fingers.

"Oi oi! We don't need your cloak kid!" Once of them quickly waved his hand in front of him in denial. "We was just playing around."

"But…" One of Ryou's knees suddenly bucked beneath him and he smashed his head against the brick wall. He yelped and let his body slide down as he clutched his injured spot. He was definitely nearing his body's limit and he still hadn't found a place to rest properly. In his momentary daze, Ryou didn't feel the hands on him until he was well off the ground. He panicked instantly and kicked until one of the men's voice got him to calm down.

"Steady there kid, we're just trying to help. We're not heartless enough to leave a beaten up kid like you here on the streets." From somewhere behind him, a hand ruffled his hair lightly. Ryou remained quiet as he was placed on someone's back and wrapped his arms around a thick neck. The voice continued. "So, where do ya live?"

It was becoming a chore to stay awake but Ryou answered sleepily. "I'm not from around here…but if you could take me to a valley, or a garden, I'd appreciate it."

"A valley?" Questioned the incredulous voice.

"Yes please; somewhere with no people, and a lot of flowers…"

What happened next was a blur, words meant to him meshed together that received only murmurs and sighs as a response. They were trying to keep him awake, Ryou figured, and did his best to comply. It was a smooth ride, a comforting rocking motion that brought in an ancient memory. It had been his father's broad back that carried him that time.

Then it stopped, and he felt the thin strips of grass between his fingers as he did his best to remain sitting. It felt nice and he gave in to the feeling and laid his aching body closer against it. A thin thread that still connected him to reality managed to keep him from drifting away and forgetting everything. He forced his hands to finish removing the cloak and rolled out of it. "Take it." He whispered.

"We're not taking that from you."

Ryou didn't want to argue anymore, couldn't keep on with any argument. "It's an exchange…so take it…I'm fine without it."

Something about the defeated tone of his voice urged the men to pick up the cloak and the one that had carried Ryou to the empty field threw it across his shoulder. "Hey, is there someone coming here to get you?"

"I don't know, maybe…" And then Ryou slept with the light breeze of nature lulling him to sleep.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So, this story is going to continue but at sporadic intervals, so I'm apologizing now, in advance ^^ Thank you, everyone that reviewed because without you, this story would have stayed at only one chapter =3 Oh, and I might just start working on a cover for 'Demon's Fairy' since we can apparently do that now (wish me luck ;D )**_


	3. SEEKING

**[Seeking]**

Bakura couldn't be more annoyed than he was at the moment. Not only was he separated from Ryou but Ryou didn't even have the key with him making it impossible to simply reappear beside him. This was the worst, and these two stupid kids, both with wide eyes and gaping mouths as they stared into the empty room, were slowly becoming more and more useless. Soon, there wouldn't be any reason to keep them around.

The blonde girl was shrieking too loudly. She pointed at the empty bed and let an endless stream of words flow right out of her mouth. What a useless person. The other one, a boy with spiked pink hair, was just as annoying. He kept waving his arms and insisting that this was not his fault, that a beat-up kid like Ryou would never have been able to leave the room. Someone would have seen him leave the building, especially Mirajane.

Stupid kids, couldn't even see the open window. Ryou was a weakling with little to no stamina, but he proved to be resilient when circumstances demanded it of him. Bakura knew this fact well. Since the villagers had sealed him inside the golden key, he had lost his connection with the boy and wasn't able to discover the full extent of Ryou's injuries (stupid village people; they were lower than dirt). But if these wounds were as serious as the two kids made it sound, Ryou would have a hard time walking around.

With a growl, he pushed past the arguing pair who were only wasting time by blaming one another, and took a look out the window. It was a large opening and easy to access, a definite exit for Ryou. In a swift movement, Bakura leaped out and landed gracefully on both feet. He studied the surroundings then picked a route to take.

"Hey! Wait up!"

It was that scarf kid. Bakura didn't even bother to stop for someone like him; he wasn't worth the time Bakura could be spending on looking for Ryou instead.

"Oi! Where are you going?"

"Who knows?" Bakura responded without missing a beat in his hasty steps.

"If you're going to look for that boy, we'll help."

This time, Bakura laughed and turned momentarily to look back. "Help? You're the ones that were paid to kill him, right?"

They were struck, shocked at the words and Bakura was inwardly pleased. Now he was able to see the entire situation at hand. The villagers, too cowardly to kill Ryou themselves, dumped the task on these people. The keys were used as payment which was how he ended up in the blonde girl's hands and these people turned out to be smarter about the skeptical deal. Thus they had decided to wait to get to the bottom of things before doing anything. And as they waited, they allowed their "target" to escape oh so merrily.

The boy who had paused in his steps quickly caught up, a frown on his face. "What do you know about all of this?"

"What indeed…" The toothy grin Bakura had faded away soon enough and he moved faster. He was not about to waste any seconds in speaking to them. Ryou was his priority now and if the weak thing had died in some alleyway, he would be sure to make someone pay. Bakura's face hardened at that thought. The first person he would pay a visit to would be that village chief. Torture him for a while before decapitating him, then move on to anyone he might recognize who was a part of the gang that had dared to harm Ryou that night. Then after that… Bakura didn't even want to think about it.

The pink-haired boy cut him off then and stood directly in front of Bakura to block his path. The two were of the same height so they were able to glare directly into each other's eyes. "Move." Bakura demanded.

The boy didn't and Bakura was amused by the fearlessness for only an instant. "We were given this mission and we will see to it through to the end."

"You mean the end of the demon. I have no intention of letting the boy die, especially by the hands of two annoying kids." Bakura growled. He reached out to shove the other's shoulder and be on his way. It was intercepted when the pink-haired boy gripped his wrist in a tight hold and refused to let go.

There was a fire in his eyes, Bakura could see it clearly. "He might not even be a demon." The boy hissed in anger.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what is he?"

There was a moment of quiet thought. The boy released him and took a step back almost as an act of respect for space. "I...don't know, but he isn't a demon. And we will find out who and what his is and why that man wanted us to destroy him."

Bakura clicked his tongue, muttering quietly. "Persistent humans." He crossed his arms and came up with a suitable solution. "We will play a game then." When he saw the confused look on the boy and the girl, who had moved besides him, Bakura's smile broadened. "If you are able to help in finding Ryou, then I'll explain a little of what is going on. However, if I am the one who finds him without your help, then we'll leave and you will give back the keys you were given."

"Alright then." The scarf boy agreed. "We're in, but you better be prepared to tell us the entire story." When Bakura shrugged, the boy smiled at the challenged at hand. "I'm Natsu, by the way. Natsu Dragoneel."

"Ah! Natsu, don't just give your name away!" The blonde girl cried. It was easy to see the worry in her face and it brought nothing but satisfaction to Bakura.

"Don't worry about it. We're going to be helping each other anyways."

With a tired sigh, the girl looked at Bakura with weary eyes. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia."

They waited a few seconds in silence, broken by Bakura's footsteps as he was finally able to move on past them. "Bakura." Was all he said as he left them behind. It wasn't long though, before he heard the following two pairs of footsteps. Really, he had been hoping they would be able to split up. Oh well, he still had the option of losing them somewhere crowded.

He looked around with a frown. It was already getting late and not many people were seen walking through the streets. _Seems like the crowd won't be an option. _Bakura cursed. He had felt the strength the Natsu kid had and witnessed the persistence in his eyes. Getting away from them won't be easy and in the condition Bakura was in ruled out an outright battle. Even the shadows were proving difficult to control. He cursed again, out loud, swearing to repay the villagers once he had the chance no matter what Ryou would say to it. That kid was too kind sometimes, and it got him beaten and kicked out of his village.

"Stupid kid."

"Did you say something?" Natsu called from behind Bakura's shoulder.

"I said, to make yourselves useful instead of following me around."

He heard a soft whisper from Lucy. "Liar." He ignored it and speed his movements in order to cover more ground before the night arrived. Not that he would quit looking of course, just that it was easier to distinguish things when there was light. Or maybe it would be easier to spot that mob of white hair in the dark.

He was musing in his silent thoughts while his eyes shifted from side to side, looking for any sort of clue that pointed to where Ryou might be. An idea struck him and he groaned at his own slow thinking. Ryou would undoubtedly head towards nature: flowers, fruits, trees, grass, anything. He turned and faced his followers. "Where is the closest garden?"

"Huh?" Lucy tilted her head at the sudden question. "Uh, well..." she looked at Natsu expectantly to finish the sentence for her.

Natsu scratched his chin, thinking. "A garden? There aren't many...but there is a clearing not too far from here. Do you think that's where the boy could be?"

"Most likely."

Natsu nodded once and took the lead along with Lucy. Bakura let them, content with seeing Lucy glance back a few times. The poor girl knew to be afraid of him but the other...he left his back exposed. He really was an idiot. Unless he didn't see Bakura as an enemy. In that case, Natsu was a real idiot.

As they walked, another group of three appeared up ahead, going down the same road in the opposite direction. Three men, delinquent types with little hygienic skills, just the type most tended to avoid if they wanted to remain safe.

As he observed them from the corner of his eye, he overheard Lucy whispering to Natsu. "Doesn't that cloak look familiar?"

"Yeah...like the one Mirajane has."

"Yes! Didn't she leave it in Ryou's room for when he woke up? I remember her putting it on a chair after she finished binding his arm."

As the gap between both groups shrunk, Bakura was also able to pick up a bit of the conversation in the opposite group. There was only one line though, that really struck Bakura.

"...I mean really, what kid has white hair-"

Bakura was on him in an instant. He slammed the unsuspecting man against a brick wall and held him there by the collar. "What white-haired kid?" He hissed.

The other two men were frozen by the sudden attack. When they heard the third man's angry groaning, they snapped out of it and dove at the captor. They each got a hold of Bakura's arms and attempted to pull him away. They were shocked instead when they felt a terribly cold tremor flow down their bodies at the touch. With a shriek they pushed themselves away, landing roughly on the ground.

The man Bakura had pinned was the one worst off. He was sweating now from some unknown fear. His quivering words could barely be understood as he attempted to reply. "W-what?"

"The kid with the white hair. Where. Is. He?"

"I-I-I don't k-know! Please stop this!"

The man was coming close to being hysterical and Bakura stepped back. He watched the man slide down with a stoic expression. He knew this was not the best time to release the boiling tension inside of him so Bakura instead reached down to pick up the fallen cloak. His voice was cold and expressionless as he spoke. "Where did you get this cloak from?"

"Bakura, hold up!" Natsu was looking from the men on the ground to Bakura, trying to step in between them. "I know your worried but-"

Before he could finish Bakura threw the cloak at him, entangling him, then shoved him away to struggle on the road. Lucy shrieked a loud "Natsu!" and quickly bent down to pull the cloth away.

Meanwhile, Bakura trained his gaze back at the men. "Well?"

"We found him wandering around all bruised and all so we helped him out! He told us to leave him in that valley place and he just fell asleep like it was his bed or something!"

The stream of words threatened to give him a headache. Still, their story sounded too innocent for men like them. It was more like they pushed Ryou around, left him in that valley the man mentioned, and stole the cloak. "And the cloak?" He pressed.

The man eyed the cloak Natsu had removed and was holding in his hand (and frowning quite disapprovingly at Bakura). "H-he gave it to us. Said it was a fair trade for taking him to the valley. We told him we didn't want it but he insisted 'n he just fell asleep!"

Bakura tsked at what he heard. _That sounds like Ryou_. "Where did you leave him?"

"In the small clearing, two streets back. There's a dirt road that runs off to the east."

Not wasting another second on the weaklings, Bakura resumed his lead role and rushed off. He no longer cared whether the other two kids followed him or not, and he couldn't care less of what they made of his actions. All that mattered at the moment was finding Ryou and finding him with breath still flowing through his body.

The group followed the curt directions and eventually came to the tiny dirt path that led away from the town they were in. From there was an opened space, almost like a park but with a more natural and wild atmosphere and tall imposing trees surrounding the place.

In the darkening flat area, it was hard to miss the lump that lay on the grass. Bakura hastened his steps but then stopped dead in his tracks only a few meters away. It was indeed Ryou whose silver locks covered the grass in a jumbled mess but Bakura hadn't stopped because he doubted his identity. It was the ring of daisies around the body that had caught his attention. Just as Natsu and Lucy were rushing past him, Bakura reached out and grabbed them by the back of their collars and pulled them back.

The two landed flat on their bottoms after being jerked so harshly. "What was that for?!" Natsu cried.

"Shut up and get over here." The one standing over them whispered and started walking off to the side.

Lucy scrambled to her feet and point at Ryou. "But what about-"

"Stop talking and get over here!"

The insistence and forceful tone in his voice got them up and following orders. With backwards glances, they went after Bakura though a bit hesitant. They too noticed the perfect ring of white puffy flowers and wanted to investigate the matter closer.

There were trees not too far and Bakura stopped only when Ryou was just out of sight. He leaned against a tree with his hands in his pockets. The moon was visible now with no sunlight in sight. It sure was a tiring thing, looking for Ryou. At least he knew he was alive now and they could plan out what they would be doing from then on. Bakura himself had no place to return to, only to Ryou's side. Where ever that troublesome boy decides to go Bakura would never be too far behind.

His eyes had been closed but he still noticed when the moonlight was cut off. He allowed one eye to open. Natsu was standing before him with his hands at his hips and feet slightly separated, a stance meant to stay unmoving and firmly planted. When Natsu remained quiet, Bakura spoke up. "What?"

"You still haven't explained."

"And you won't leave us alone until I do?"

"Exactly."

_Cheeky human_. Bakura exaggerated a sigh and stood up straight. "Then I'll only give you the basic story. If you want details, ask Ryou."

Lucy, who had been off to the side, approached them out of curiosity. "You're really going to tell us?"

"You won the game; you proved you could actually be useful." Bakura shrugged nonchalantly and returned to leaning against the thick trunk at his back. "I'll begin with this: Ryou is not the demon the villagers wanted dead."

Natsu grinned at that. "I knew it!"

"I am."

Natsu and Lucy stared at Bakura, unable to believe that statement. They've never been face to face with a demon so they didn't know what to expect. But to have spent hours besides one and not be maimed or possessed or killed like old stories said they would was shocking. "Wait," Lucy shook her head. "You can't be a demon. You're a celestial spirit. I was the one who summoned you!" She took out the small golden key and let it dangle in front of her as if it was enough to deny Bakura's words.

"Oh, that key." A smile formed on his lips that showed his pointy teeth. "It's fake."

"WHAT?!"

"It's a long story, too complex for you human minds starting from when I was human, then a spirit, a demon... But I am attached to an object, the Millennium Ring. It was broken and the pieces became keys, one golden key and a few other silver ones. They are fake because they weren't created like celestial keys were, but they work in the same way. They might even be connected to other spirits."

Lucy didn't know what to make of this information. Fake keys that _might_ work like the real ones? "And you don't know if they work?"

"I never had the liberty to experiment." Bakura opened his mouth, then closed it after thinking about his words. "I was possessing Ryou after he got his hands on the Millennium Ring. He was a child, easy prey to overshadow."

Natsu and Lucy nodded as they followed the tale Bakura had begun, unwilling to interrupt or ruin the mood.

"I was the type of demon who feasted on fear, agony, and desperation and so what I did was steal the souls of children and make the villagers frightened." There was a gasp from the audience to which Bakura smirked inwardly at; it was an old habit of his. "All of Ryou's little playmates would suddenly fall asleep, as if death had them in its hands. No one knew what was happening and would never dream of blaming Ryou. Time passed and the pattern became too obvious to ignore and they eventually found out about the demon in the ring." Remembering the events, Bakura let out a dry laugh. "They tried so many time to get rid of me, but I always came back, always returned to Ryou."

It was quiet again, tranquil. Bakura was looking up at the star-filled sky, lost in his own thoughts. "I was a demon because I had fused with a real one. We were bound together and were a single entity and I had lost everything that made me human, or even a spirit. There was only darkness. But Ryou...he saved me. He severed the bound and even destroyed the real demon. " Bakura gazed towards where Ryou slept, a longing in his eyes that was so unlike his usual self. It was quickly gone at a blink of an eye and the sarcastic spark returned as he sped through the ending.

"The villagers refused to believe it though and hired a mage. Ryou resisted, someone wound up dead, and was labeled a demon instead. Then he was dumped at your doorstep when they figured they couldn't risk killing him themselves."

Natsu swallowed, still stuck at that fact that Bakura was a demon. "If Ryou killed the real demon, then what are you?"

Bakura smirked in a mysterious manner. "Who knows?"

"And why couldn't the villagers kill him?" Lucy asked then quickly added, "Not that I wanted them to do that."

"I'll just say that a murdered Ryou might be worse than being terrorized by a demon." Not leaving any time for the other two to ask any more questions, Bakura dusted his pants and made his way to where they had left Ryou. "He's had enough time."

The three of them soon stood around Ryou. By then, Natsu and Lucy were clearly overwhelmed by the surprises and unexpected events they kept coming across. At their feet slept Ryou, curled on his side just as he had been when they first arrived. However, there were now vines with blooming, bright-colored flowers tangled all around his body, as if blanketing him against the dangers of the world. The plants where growing directly from the grass as if they had been there for days and months since the dirt around them remained undisturbed.

Stranger still was Ryou himself. Through the holes and gaps in the earth-woven blanket the two Fairy Tale members could see was healed skin. Where there had been bruises was now a clear complexion. Even the terribly swollen eye had been returned to normal although it still retained a bit of the purple color. "H-how...?" Lucy began, utterly befuddled.

Bakura ignored her and knelt down. With cautious movements he pushed aside the vines until he had a wide enough gap to pull the boy out through. He was careful with how he handled Ryou, so patient and mindful of how he held him. When he had an arm beneath Ryou's shoulders and another under his knees, Bakura stood and then looked over at his company. "Well, shall we get going?"

The other two nodded and led the way back to where their search began. Bakura made sure to memorize the path they took for when they returned to that valley. _They_ were there, hiding in the valley and if _they_ were willing to help Ryou, then_ they_ might be willing to help them later on too.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Yeah...Happy is napping elsewhere for the moment... Also, it's been months since I've last watched Fairy Tail so I'm sorry for any and all OOC-ness in the chapter. I tried.**_

_**So, care to guess who [**_**they**_**] are? I think it's pretty obvious though, depending on what background information you have.**_


End file.
